Just a quick reminder that the new Clapton documentary premiers tonight at 9 PM on Showtime....I believe Showtime has a free streaming offering at present for those who don't subscribe.

From some of the interviews and Q & A's I've seen that Clapton and the producer participated in, it looks pretty entertaining and insightful into a pretty amazing life. A must see for any Clapton fan.

PeachNutt - 2/11/2018 at 01:19 AM

Thanks for the reminder!!!

Chain - 2/11/2018 at 02:06 PM

Very good documentary I thought. I read Clapton's book several years ago and enjoyed it. Watching this last night it was made much clearer just how deep Clapton had sunk with his various substance issues. He of course details this in his book but actually seeing the footage of how far gone he was is quite sad, really.....

The footage of the Layla recordings and the Allman Brothers and Duane was pretty cool. Duane discussing the experience was interview footage I'd never heard previous.

Finally, seeing where Clapton is now in his life was touching as he has a beautiful and happy family and as he says, "What more could a man want?"

The documentary definitely gets two thumbs up from this casual fan...

wearly89 - 2/11/2018 at 02:22 PM

quote:Very good documentary I thought. I read Clapton's book several years ago and enjoyed it. Watching this last night it was made much clearer just how deep Clapton had sunk with his various substance issues. He of course details this in his book but actually seeing the footage of how far gone he was is quite sad, really.....

The footage of the Layla recordings and the Allman Brothers and Duane was pretty cool. Duane discussing the experience was interview footage I'd never heard previous.

Finally, seeing where Clapton is now in his life was touching as he has a beautiful and happy family and as he says, "What more could a man want?"
by
The documentary definitely gets two thumbs up from this casual fan...

Great little review! You made me want to see this.
IF - 2/11/2018 at 06:06 PM

Never knew that Eric Clapton recorded with Aretha Franklin until I saw Eric Clapton in Twelve Bars last night.

this was a superb documentary.much more accessible and vivid than his book.

the Aretha clip was new to me-the backstory is cool and funny and the song speaks for itself.

the one moment that really took me by surprise was seeing Dylan's first time watching/listening to EC on tv and his reaction to hearing what was, at the time, an incredibly unique kind of sound.

the musical discussions of each phase of his work were fascinating & the early years and his obsession with blues and guitar were very cool.

[Edited on 2/11/2018 by dadof2]

playallnite - 2/11/2018 at 07:10 PM

I never was a big NASCAR fan,now I'm conducting my own personal boycott.If you have any sort of medical cannabis sponsorship decals on your car better get em off or you won't be able to compete,they'd rather have you drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco. The France family is too controling.

dzobo - 2/11/2018 at 09:23 PM

Like Dylan said, I give it a "Wow". That alone was such cool outtake footage from "Don't Look Back". Amazingly thorough depiction of Clapton's life and career. And other great tidbits like the "Hendrix kiss", the Aretha session and all the home movie footage down through the eras. As mentioned earlier, visually seeing his on-going demise was much more powerful and unsettling than the story presented in his biography. Just as with Gregg his performing and quality of his life became so much better with sobriety, leading to a late career renaissance.

Chain - 2/11/2018 at 09:41 PM

quote:Never knew that Eric Clapton recorded with Aretha Franklin until I saw Eric Clapton in Twelve Bars last night.

Thanks for sharing this clip.....What a great performance all around. Aretha is amazing and watching her listen to this session in the studio while pacing slowly, then sitting, all while smoking a cigarette, was kind of mesmerizing.

Hearing now Clapton's full performance, I understand more what was probably going through her head. Just great playing and incredible how it fits so well in the song. Every thing about this tune is musicianship at its finest. And the recording quality is fantastic...

[Edited on 2/11/2018 by Chain]
PeachNutt - 2/11/2018 at 10:14 PM

Hi Effie!!!
Yeah, the Dylan clip, the EC - Jimi audio tape and EC saying he and Duane were "inseparable" for that time were hi lights for me..... Very deep personal stuff about his awful childhood experiences.... terrible stuff... But well done and definitely worth seeing.

wearly89 - 2/12/2018 at 01:29 AM

Just finished watching this excellent documentary. Not that I'm any expert or anything but it was huge for me. The 50 Years ago documentary about Sgt Peppers was fantastic, too. Clapton and McCartney have always been around, haven't they? Anyway, a fantastic program - so forthcoming and honest to the bone. Clapton lays his life wide open. This would be something I hope everyone can see. Very rewarding.

pops42 - 2/12/2018 at 05:36 PM

GREAT! so far.

pops42 - 2/12/2018 at 07:22 PM

Saw the rest of it today, they left some things out worth mentioning: D&B & Friends [integral part of Eric being a frontman/solo artist] Death of Duane Allman, getting back with Cream in 2005, getting on stage with ABB at Beacon in 2009. I just thought those things should have been touched upon.

WarEagleRK - 2/12/2018 at 09:16 PM

The left out a lot of things. I wouldn't expect the 2009 Beacon to be mentioned.

However, I don't think they mentioned Blind Faith by name, other than he was in a band with Steve Winwood. No mention of the return to the stage at the Rainbow Concert (which really ties into stories they were telling), Concert for Bangladesh, no talk about how him and George were able to remain friends despite the Patti Boyd situation.

That's just off the top of my head, there are tons more interesting topics that weren't even touched.

His is a story that can't be told in two hours. They would need a 3 or 4 part series to tell the whole story with any detail.

Sadly this doc was just good, it could have been great. It was more personal and not enough music for my taste, but I get it they wanted to tell a human interest story.

PeachNutt - 2/13/2018 at 01:34 AM

WERK - I agree with you....

pixielf - 2/13/2018 at 01:55 PM

Me too!

rayg - 2/13/2018 at 04:54 PM

Tastefully done but incomplete . The Brothers and Dylan footage were eye opening. We definitely need a part 2 . Incredible that Eric has survived . Obviously he really wanted to live . I don't think the human body is sturdy enough to withstand the punishment Eric inflicted on himself. If he didn't want to live, the death of his son would have been the final straw. I often hear criticism of Eric's musical output since the early 70's . The fact that there was any production appears to be miraculous based on what we learned in the documentary . I went to Eric shows in the late 70's with Jamie Oldaker and George Terry in the band along with Muddy's band opening the shows. I don't recall witnessing any shows that were utter failures as the ones depicted in the doc. I always felt that seeing and listening to Eric was a privilege . Ultimately maybe he understood to a certain extent that he meant so much to so many is what kept him going through the difficult periods. My personal favorite later period albums were Journeyman and From The Cradle. There were always a few tunes on each of the other albums that resonated with me. His original formula of collaborating with other great singer/songwriter/ musicians is when his original music output was at it's peak.

WarEagleRK - 2/13/2018 at 05:35 PM

While obviously there were some disaster shows in the late 70's I think it was a very rare occurrence. I think that was played up to a large degree in the documentary.

A great doc could be made of what was left off...or even just skimmed over.

Blind Faith
Concert For Bangladesh
His return to the stage for The Rainbow Concerts
His work as a sideman on the road and in the studio with George Harrison, Delaney & Bonnie and many others.
How hearing The Band and working with Delaney changed his direction
The Journeyman era and how that lead to him being the king of Royal Albert Hall
The Unplugged album and how it lead to the next surge in his popularity
From The Cradle
The influence of JJ Cale
The Cream reunion
Being the only 3 time inductee into the R&R Hall of Fame
His ongoing friendship with George Harrison even after the Pattie situation

So much to cover, so many people they could have interviewed. So many different angles to take.

There are 10 documentaries they could have done.

Imagine if someone tried to do a Beatles Anthology type doc on someone like Clapton or imagine a Bob Dylan one... if you could get Bob to open up.

absnj - 2/13/2018 at 05:51 PM

I made the mistake of putting this one when I had a lot to do last night. I could not get away and watched the whole thing.

It was great to see all the home video and archival musical footage, that obviously was not part of the book and added quite a bit to the experience. In other ways, I enjoyed the fact that the book kept the timeline consistent, so you learned how Clapton experienced the music at the same time he told about his personal struggles, whereas the video time-shifted.

One tidbit I enjoyed from the book and missed from the video was about his starting to sing. That may have been during the D&B, and if so, as Pops mentioned, that would have been nice to include.

I can understand omission of the reunion and one-off shows, they could be stories by themselves, but at least his book mentioned the touring he did with Derek around 2006. Some sober touring history would help to end things on a nice positive note.

BB king was a great way to end it!

BIGV - 2/14/2018 at 04:54 AM

quote: I often hear criticism of Eric's musical output since the early 70's .

Don't think it had all that much to do with "output".... a lot of guitar players were more proficient, faster and most importantly, different. He is a Legend, no doubt....But I think too many other players were just, better. He was dead in the water until "Unplugged" brought him back into the mainstream, since then?....Longevity is the Man's calling card and may he rock on.dadof2 - 2/14/2018 at 12:07 PM

quote:

quote: I often hear criticism of Eric's musical output since the early 70's .

a lot of guitar players were more proficient, faster and most importantly, different. He is a Legend, no doubt....But I think too many other players were just, better. He was dead in the water until "Unplugged" brought him back into the mainstream, since then?....

"too many players were better"---your opinion, but i differ.When EC sat in with ABB,imo,he was the most talented guitarist on stage.It's all there in IMOER.

since Unplugged:

Cream reunion
great band with Doyle,etc.
tour with Derek
crossroads shows
EC/Winwood tour
sitting in with ABB
shows & albums with JJ Cale
& more

your observation of his work is way different that what i saw attending shows in each of those tours.

JimSheridan - 2/14/2018 at 01:40 PM

"He was dead in the water until "Unplugged" brought him back into the mainstream, since then?"

Clapton was definitely NOT dead in the water until Unplugged.

He did not really seem to have much mainstream success per se from the late 70s through early 80s. That was when he released "Backless," "Just One Night," "Another Ticket," and "Money & Cigarettes." He seemed to be coasting at that point.

However, from 1985-1990, he owned the FM airwaves. That was "Behind The Sun," "August," and "JourneyMan." A Cream fan might find those too glossy, but the mainstream couldn't get enough of Clapton. He put on a blistering set at Live Aid; Michelob pulled him in to do commercials; he was filling arenas. I saw him at that time and while the setlist might have looked just OK, he put some blistering guitar into every song and was singing better than ever. He was hot at the same time Robert Cray and Stevie Ray Vaughn were; the blues-guitar-happy mood at that time enabled the ABB to reunite.

He rode that wave of success into "MTV Unplugged," which was the peak of that commercial renaissance, and that enabled him to finally do his all-blues album in 1994.

I'll agree that since 1994, he has had few chart hits. On the other hand, since 1994, who of his generation HAS had a hit?

cmgst34 - 2/14/2018 at 02:31 PM

quote: I'll agree that since 1994, he has had few chart hits. On the other hand, since 1994, who of his generation HAS had a hit?

"Change the World" was a HUGE hit.

Also, as to his playing around that time, his take of "Don't Think Twice" from the Dylan Anniversary concert is some of my all-time favorite by him.

And, it's often overlooked, but I think his playing in the Wynton Marsalis standards live album is AWESOME. His tone is fantastic (reminds me of his Cream tone every time I listen), and his solos while all short are crisp and perfect. He's really, really good on that album.

And for a bit later on the down the road, he's great all over that Winwood album.
JimSheridan - 2/14/2018 at 07:27 PM

The Bobfest was 1992, I think, and "Change the World" was 1996.

It's a side question but an interesting topic - of all of the classic rock era artists, guys who are, let's say, 70 or older now, who is the last one to have a really big hit? Maybe Clapton with "Change the World" was the one.

DeadMallard - 2/14/2018 at 11:03 PM

quote:

quote:

quote: I often hear criticism of Eric's musical output since the early 70's .

a lot of guitar players were more proficient, faster and most importantly, different. He is a Legend, no doubt....But I think too many other players were just, better. He was dead in the water until "Unplugged" brought him back into the mainstream, since then?....

"too many players were better"---your opinion, but i differ.When EC sat in with ABB,imo,he was the most talented guitarist on stage.It's all there in IMOER.

since Unplugged:

Cream reunion
great band with Doyle,etc.
tour with Derek
crossroads shows
EC/Winwood tour
sitting in with ABB
shows & albums with JJ Cale
& more

your observation of his work is way different that what i saw attending shows in each of those tours.

This is a fun read and its all just everyone's opinion, including mine.

I certainly felt Clapton really shined on Stormy Monday etc when onstage with the ABB at the Beacon. He was in his sweet spot and just incredible. But on the more improve tunes like Dreams & Liz Reed I thought he took a definite back seat to Derek.

Blessed to have lived in the era of many iconic guitar players. I've enjoyed Eric immensely.

[Edited on 2/14/2018 by DeadMallard]
BIGV - 2/15/2018 at 12:09 AM

quote: But on the more improve tunes like Dreams & Liz Reed I thought he took a definite back seat to Derek.

Listening again lately it sounded to these ears like Eric wasn't familiar with the song, like he failed to understand what the solo was intended to project....It's not about speed or technique, or a "wow" moment, "Dreams" is like sailing through Clouds... Derek, has lived this song......

quote: Blessed to have lived in the era of many iconic guitar players. I've enjoyed Eric immensely.

Amen
Fretsman - 2/15/2018 at 01:23 AM

This was always a fav clip of mine, It's from the Rolling Train tour of the 70's. A bit of a mild buzz he pours his bluesy little heart out.

I think most of you guys are missing the point about what the doc was about.It wasn't meant to be about his career at all more so about how he struggled with his identity most of his life.He clearly had issues with women and life in general,drugs helped him deal with the pain.He allowed himself to fall victim to all his insecuritys.The doc portrays a man a highly regarded one at that redeeming himself to the world for all his misgiving.Very humbling.He has helped so many people with the same issues in the last twenty years though his Crossroads Centre.So glad he's found happiness God Bless Him.

Chain - 2/16/2018 at 12:13 AM

quote:I think most of you guys are missing the point about what the doc was about.It wasn't meant to be about his career at all more so about how he struggled with his identity most of his life.He clearly had issues with women and life in general,drugs helped him deal with the pain.He allowed himself to fall victim to all his insecuritys.The doc portrays a man a highly regarded one at that redeeming himself to the world for all his misgiving.Very humbling.He has helped so many people with the same issues in the last twenty years though his Crossroads Centre.So glad he's found happiness God Bless Him.

Bingo....Well said.
redhouse1969 - 2/16/2018 at 12:55 AM

I agree with the last two posts... I find it to be quite depressing at certain points. His never ending search to find acceptance, rejection from his birth mother, the obsession with Patti, seemed like he wanted success but every time a band or project was achieving that desire he would walk away as if he felt he wasn't worthy... in the end is it really worth it?

WarEagleRK - 2/16/2018 at 05:11 AM

I fully got what it was about, I think most of us who have had comments on it got what it was about. They wanted to wrap his career around a human interest story. It was good, I enjoyed it. I just wanted more about the music.

CanadianMule - 2/18/2018 at 09:15 PM

I find with most of these older rockers, it has all been said. Often people get upset when a doc leaves out information/stories that they already know. Never made sense to me as, you already know it.

Throw in the fact that many of these guys were warped out of their minds late 60/70s and they have memory issues. Gregg used to tell stories that evolved/changed overtime as do many of them. Either doesn't actually fully remember or just lied to alter a story for some reason.

A guy like Clapton has had his life picked apart from both a personal and musical standpoint to such detail, I almost know more about them than my brothers. So I am not sure what more people would like although I think the same people would always be left wanting more. That is not a bad thing and don't mean to imply it. But sometimers there is no more to be had.

I have found that the best way to get those "extra" stories has always been to talk to the actual people if the chance arises. I have been lucky over the years and met many. Usually have found out some cool stuff. Part of the trouble is when they are asked the same questions - you hear the same stories.

Plus like ourselves with our lives, they are not going to spread the XXX details of debauchery and tour buses.

I have been part of many parties with rockers that were definitely wilder than what I read in their books.

WarEagleRK - 2/19/2018 at 05:52 PM

Just because the full story is known, doesn't mean a documentary shouldn't cover it. If the intent was a career spanning detailed story (which obviously this one wasn't) you have to tell stories that are known to all. The best will do it in ways or from perspectives that it hasn't been done before.

I hate the docs/biographies that go into too much detail about the debauchery. Too many of them do and it's almost all the same thing. A lot of times the ones who go into that kind of detail are the ones who never stopped being a scumbag anyway. We get it Motley Crue did a lot of drugs and lived 100 lives in 10 years. I like the ones that tell the story through the music, which is why we loved them in the first place.

That's what made "Running Down A Dream", "Living In The Material World" and "Please Call Home" great documentaries and Alan Paul's ABB book, Warren Zane's Petty book and Bob Mehr's Replacements book such great reads. They gave enough of the story to know the people involved had major flaws but used that to show how it impacted the music and the band.

[Edited on 2/19/2018 by WarEagleRK]

CanadianMule - 2/20/2018 at 03:41 AM

That is the problem with having over 50 years of fame, fortune and success does - it creates too much to fit it all in one doc unless it is a 10 part mini series and no one is going to pay to make that.

I get your point. Books and films all hit us differently. Except for the odd case, I hate the first couple of chapters of most bios. Don't care about their first bikes, houses, schools, etc. But that is just me.

I think a character such as Clapton with such a personal and musical story to tell, you can't put it all in. So IMO - leave out the rehashed stories.

WarEagleRK - 2/20/2018 at 08:42 PM

Much like being at a concert and hearing the one song that is played every time I try to keep the outlook of "there is always someone hearing it for the first time."